Table of contents for February/March 2026 in Reader's Digest

I’m no artist. I can’t draw, paint, sculpt, or throw pottery. Sure, I’ve painted some pottery, and a room or two. But I’m a words person. I’ve always been more inclined to read books or write a poem or an essay than to express myself through the visual arts. No surprise I became an editor! Actually, when I say I can’t draw, that’s not 100% true. I can draw one thing: hearts. When I eat at a restaurant with paper on the table and crayons in a little cup, I always draw hearts—mostly big round ones. I’m good at drawing hearts only because I was so bad at drawing them at first. Back in preschool, the teacher showed us how, and my hearts were … not lovely. So—according to my…

Strangers No More Erin Jackson flew from Arkansas to New York City in February 2024. While out to eat in Brooklyn, she struck up a conversation with a woman seated at the next table, a local named Sue. The two hit it off—so much so that they agreed to reunite, same place, same time, 10 months later. They chose not to trade numbers; they would just have to trust each other to show up. Erin held up her end, flying back to the Big Apple in December. While walking toward the restaurant, she was thrilled to spot Sue. “I can’t believe this!” Sue shouts in a video Erin posted to Instagram. Despite it being just their second meeting, Erin chimed in, “We’re best friends!” The pair will surely be seeing…

THE MESSAGE CAME by email on a Friday. “Do you remember me?” wrote the sender. “Do I remember you?” I wrote back. “I think of you often and fondly, although it has been over 25 years since we last spoke, and 34 years since we first met.” Our first meeting: Jan. 25, 1990. It was a drizzly evening that fateful Thursday. I was exercising on my NordicTrack when the phone rang. It was my brother. “I heard that a plane crashed on Long Island,” he said. “Are you all OK?” “We’re fine,” I replied. Resuming my exercise, I turned on the TV. The news was dreadful: Avianca flight 052, a Boeing 707 from Bogota, Colombia, to New York City, had run out of fuel after a failed landing at John…

AS MY FATHER grew older, he grew more frugal, and I noticed he didn’t indulge himself as often as I thought he should. He would make one scoop of ice cream last as long as two. And, please, the sprinkles. That was a cost he could do without. So one day, as we walked through the cookie aisle at the drug-store, I suggested we pick up a box of shortbread cookies, his favorite. “My treat,” I said. “If you wanna get some, sure,” he said. “I just know that you like them”, I said. “Oh, I love them.” “They’re right here. I’ll grab a box.” As I reached down for a box … “Actually, your mother gets these other cookies, Nadine’s.” “Nadine’s? I never heard of them.” “Oh, they’re great.…

MY COLLEGE ROOMMATES and I watched Katie Couric make history in 2000 by undergoing a colonoscopy on TV. That memory stuck with me, and more than two decades later, I announced to my doctor that I’d been proactively strategizing for my first one: “Don’t worry,” I said, “I’m going to take the day off work and spend the afternoon recovering!” I was taken aback when he told me I probably wouldn’t need to. Not that it wasn’t time for me to start screening for colon cancer—in 2018 the American Cancer Society had lowered the recommended age to 45, and in 2021 other organizations followed. But for many people at low risk (me included, thankfully!), he said that an at-home screening test was all that was needed. So no prep, no…

Confused how to use certain SAT-worthy words in a sentence? Contributors to Fark.com are here to help: Askance: “Relationships with nieces and nephews can be difficult—just askance and uncles.” Candor: “When Julie asked her manager for a raise, they candor instead.” Derelict: “When derelict the ice cream cone, he knew he just had to eat the rest.” Euphemism: “When citizens from the far-flung republic of Ism visited their more provincial neighbors, they were often told, “You sure sound like euphemism.’” Meander: “Jill and I went for a winding walk. It was just meander.” Rescind: “This morning I went to confession, but after I left the church, I immediately rescind.” Wend: “Wend we do that?”…

One problem with buttered popcorn—and there are not many—is that it leaves a slimy, albeit delicious, film on your hands. Just ask Steve and Jeannine Van Ysseldyk. The couple, from Mission, British Columbia, were eating a bag of the stuff on their lawn when they spilled some. Jeannine picked up the dropped popcorn and tossed it into a compost heap. Then she and Steve finished off the rest of the popcorn. The next day, she discovered that her engagement and wedding rings were missing from her finger. After looking everywhere, it dawned on the couple that the rings must have slid off her finger into the compost heap when Jeannine tossed in the popcorn. No problem—they’d just sift through it. But the village had already picked up the compost. Steve…

As Sho Dewan and his wife, Janet Fong, sat down with his parents at the dining room table in their cozy single-story home in the Los Angeles suburbs last May, the elder Dewans were hoping for news about the next generation of their family. Sho and his wife had married the previous November, and his parents were eager for grandchildren. Sho handed his mother an envelope. Inside was a Mother’s Day card that proclaimed: “Best Mum Ever!” with “and bap” (“dad” in Bengali) written in. Sho’s mom shot a glance at her daughter-in-law and quickly got excited. They ARE pregnant! she thought. Uh, no. But tucked inside the card was another surprise. First, some Dewan history. Nearly 30 years ago, the family had lived a comfortable life in Bangladesh. Sho’s…

Bonner Herring’s morning ritual consisted of scanning the pond on his property in Southport, North Carolina, for an 8-foot-long alligator that had gotten into the habit of sunning itself on the shore before starting its day. If the coast was clear, Herring would let Strike, his 4-year-old black Labrador retriever, out to run around. But on June 16, 2025, Herring was distracted by garden work and forgot his usual check of the pond. Strike took off, running around without a care in the world, as dogs do. But there are things to be careful about in this world, as Strike and Herring soon discovered. About 45 minutes after he started gardening, Herring knew something was wrong. He told WWAY-TV, a local ABC affiliate, “I heard Strike let out a yell…

Chest pain is the most common symptom, but not everyone experiences a heart attack this way-especially not women. And in many cases, the symptoms can be so vague that people may not realize what’s happening, and may not seek medical help in time. Here, from the American Heart Association, are symptoms to watch for: Chest pain, pressure or a squeezing feeling Jaw, neck, arm or back pain Nausea or vomiting Shortness of breath Breaking out in a cold sweat Feeling lightheaded Women may not always experience chest pain. But they may experience other symptoms that they may not immediately associate with a heart attack: Upper back pain Pain or pressure in the lower chest or upper abdomen A feeling of anxiety or dread Lightheadedness or fainting Indigestion or upset stomach…

THE MESSAGE LOOKED like a ransom note, with each jagged letter traced over and over for emphasis. The author got straight to the point: “I KNOW IT’S YOU MOM.” A fourth grader named Caden had begun to harbor suspicions about the supposedly magical being who left cash under his pillow after each baby tooth fell out. There had been inconsistencies in the tooth fairy’s behavior: After Caden lost his first tooth, he woke up to a crisp $100 bill. For each subsequent tooth, Caden received less. The variations in bills raised questions in his mind, so he wrote the accusatory letter to his mother, Ashley Lee, a chiropractor in California. Now Lee wanted to keep her son a believer. So she took a shot in the dark and dashed off…

“Cats are an author’s best friend because they remind you that 90% of writing is staring out a window, wandering aimlessly around your apartment naked, or inadvertently falling off a countertop. But cats are an author’s hero because in those moments when you are completely bereft of ideas, when you feel you have no more left to say, they will run across your laptop and effortlessly type ‘ahdic;tof 24-42hnc862jjvs,’ reminding you once more of the sheer power of the written word.” - Francesco Marciuliano T.S. Eliot became known for his eccentrically named imaginary cats and took his own advice when it came to naming his real-life cats. Jellylorum and Bustopher Jones were two of several real-life cats that had counterparts in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Mungojerrie, Rumpleteaser, Pettipaws,…

I’ve failed for a lot longer than I’ve succeeded. —Glen Powell, ACTOR, IN VANITY FAIR Never be so sure of what you want that you wouldn’t take something better. —Chris Voss, FORMER FBI HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR, ON THE DAILY PODCAST Sometimes people ask me marriage advice because I’ve been happily married for 25 years. My answer? I know how to be married to my wife… not yours. —Ice-T, ENTERTAINER, ON X I’ve never cared as much about what other people think, but I do care a lot about what my family thinks. —Ali Wong, COMEDIAN, IN INSTYLE The goal in every interview, the absolute dream, is fresh snow. You’re walking somewhere no one has gone before. —Emma Barnett, JOURNALIST, IN THE GUARDIAN…

I THINK THE THING WE CHASE is that sizzle and that spark and that love at first sight. I personally prefer the slow burn. I say to my daughters and my son all the time: The person that is your person—and I don’t believe there’s only one person for you, I think there’s lots of people that can be your person—they need to feel like home base. Life is hard enough. Looks fade, people get fat, people get out of shape, people get cancer, people lose their hair, all kinds of things are going to happen to you. But the one thing that won’t change if you’re with the right person is that when you get home at the end of the day and you walk in the door, being…

The ORBISCULATE Challenge EASY How many words can you find within the 11-letter word below? Words must be at least three letters long and appear in the dictionary (we use Merriam-Webster) to count toward your score. YOUR SCORE: BONUS The longest word we found within ROMANTICISM is 10 letters long. Can you find it? (See answer below.) What’s With This Game’s Crazy Name? We first published “Warning: This Fruit May Orbisculate,” about a family’s made-up word, in our December 2021/January 2022 issue. Orbisculate means “when you dig your spoon into a grapefruit (or another fruit or vegetable), and it squirts juice directly in your eye.” Soon after, reader Sue Mollineaux of Torrington, Connecticut, wrote us to say that residents of her senior community had put their heads together and found…

THIS PHONE in Joshua Tree, California, may be disconnected, but it still logs many calls. It’s a “wind phone,” one of about 350 in the United States. Grieving parents Colin Campbell and Gail Lerner put it in their backyard to symbolically “call” their children, Ruby and Hart, who were killed by a drunk driver in 2019. Campbell and Lerner have found such solace in the phone that they invite others to come talk to their lost loved ones via what Campbell dubs the cosmic connection. After seeing the phone on social media, Colleen Leonard came to make about a dozen calls. “I was really struggling, grieving lots of different people,” she told the Washington Post. “I definitely left there feeling less heavy.”…

WHATEVER’S GOT YOU down, there’s a reading list to help you get through it. Boosting mental health through books is called bibliotherapy. How does it work? Reading novels with characters in predicaments similar to yours helps you find new perspective, develop empathy and just feel less alone. You can find book “prescriptions” for coping with breakups, work stress, family issues and more on book blogs like Book Therapy, Tolstoy Therapy and the Lotus Readers. Or just visit a library and browse. In fact, the world’s first library, that of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, bore an inscription calling it the house of healing for the soul.…

SWEET DREAMS The secret to better slumber could come down to what you eat—or what you avoid, according to a new study in the journal Sleep Health. Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Chicago, after tracking participants’ diet and sleep through journal notes and wrist devices, concluded that those who ate high amounts of fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates like whole grains during the day were able to rest more peacefully that night. The food found to cause more disrupted sleep: meat, specifically red meat and processed meat. Take a Stand Here’s a helpful new way to assess your overall health: Sit on the floor and see how easy it is to get up. Your ability to rise from the floor without any assistance could be a key…

The old saw about the evil stepparent certainly didn’t apply to Roger McElroy. He made a point of being a positive presence in the life of his stepdaughter, Brooke Johnson. At times when life threw screwballs at Johnson, McElroy was there to pick her up. During one trying time, he left her a voicemail that said, “Everything’s gonna be fine. We’ll get through it.” In 2024, McElroy suffered a fall that left him a quadriplegic. Three and a half weeks later, he died of those injuries. But before that, while keeping vigil by his bedside, Johnson shared with McElroy her dream of becoming the first woman to skateboard across the country. He wanted to be part of it, and they planned that she would push him in his wheelchair across…

“Today,” wrote Eric Conklin on Instagram last August, “I got a tattoo that means more to me than anything else I’ll ever put on my skin.” The body art, which runs down his chest, is impossible to miss when his shirt is off. It’s not of a rose, nor does it scream “MOM.” It’s a tattoo of a long, angry-looking scar. It’s jagged, horrific, and possibly the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see. The tat is not just situated above the heart, it comes from the heart as well. About a year before he got inked, Conklin’s world came crashing down. His son Bennett was born with a congenital heart defect. Over the next 30 days, Benny, as he’s known, endured multiple surgeries to fix the defect. It was touch…

WHEN A PLAYER on the opposing team makes a terrible mistake on a big play, the reaction for many sports fans is joy. Our team’s going to win! We rule, you stink! But not every sports fan. With a minute and a half left in an NFL playoff game last season, the Baltimore Ravens had scored a touchdown to close their deficit to the Buffalo Bills, bringing the score to 27-25. A 2-point conversion would tie the game. “The whole season essentially comes down to this play,” said the play-by-play TV announcer, Jim Nantz. The Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson, threw the ball to tight end Mark Andrews, who was at the goal line. He caught it… and he dropped it. To be fair, he seemed to slip as the ball…

SAM LATONA, a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler for the Virginia Tech Hokies, remembers getting the call from his family with news that his father was sick. It was January 2022, and the team was traveling back to their campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, after a meet. His dad, Norm Latona, was in kidney failure. Norm’s treatment started with in-home dialysis, where a tube was inserted into his belly to flush it and function as his kidney. It worked for about a year. But then his condition declined. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, and that, Sam says, was one of the scariest moments for the family. Sam’s brother Dom Latona had also wrestled at Virginia Tech. Now Dom was in medical school, and he was able to help explain the intricacies of…

1. pluck n. (pluhk) A cleverness B courage C useful skill 2. exemplar n. (ig-’zem-plahr) A protector B role model C peacemaker 3. benevolent adj. (buh-’neh-vuh-luhnt) A modest B responsible C kind 4. staunch adj. (stawnch) A brave B loyal C diligent 5. largesse n. (lahr-’zhes) A flexibility B self-esteem C generosity 6. clement adj. (’kleh-muhnt) A merciful B disciplined C independent 7. ethos n. (’ee-thahs) A grace B insight C principles 8. articulate adj. (ar-’ti-kyuh-luht) A well-spoken B well-read C well-rounded 9. gumption n. (’guhmp-shn) A drive B gratitude C honesty 10. stalwart adj. (’stawl-wert) A open-minded B strong and steady C prepared 11. acumen n. (’a-kyoo-muhn) A motivation B good judgment C natural talent 12. foursquare adj. (’for-’skwair) A straightforward B dependable C knowledgeable 13. moxie n. (’mahk-see) A optimism B sincerity C energy 14. intrepid adj. (in-’treh-puhd) A worldly B resourceful…

AT A LITTLE AFTER 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day of 2024, Lynn William Segebart stopped by a gas station in Palm Springs, Florida, near his home in Lantana. Tomorrow would be the start of a new workweek at his job managing inventory for a beverage distributor, and he stopped to buy bottled water to get him through the next couple of days. As he stood in the checkout line behind a few other customers, he heard screaming coming from outside. The others in the store either didn’t hear or chose to ignore the commotion. Segebart, 61, put down the water and rushed out the door. What he saw shocked him: Over by the gas pumps, a man was being stabbed. Moments before, 21-year-old Enrique Velasquez had been pumping gas…

It took years, but I finally finished my family’s genealogical tree and sent off binders containing the information to my extended family. But when I visited my mother, I was embarrassed to discover I’d sent her an incomplete set. “I’m sorry, your set is missing some cousins,” I said. “I’ll send you a complete binder once I get home. “You already did,” she said. “I just took out all the people I don’t like.” — DEBORAH MCCABE Houston, TX Stop leaving your children with their grandparents to babysit. I asked my nephew how old he was gonna be, and he said, “If the Lord sees fit, 10 in November.” —X@MOAD2712 As a mom of two needy toddlers, I struggle to find a moment of privacy during the day. Recently, I…

A priest and a rabbi are eating their lunch at a restaurant when the priest starts to tease his old friend. “This baked ham is delicious, so much better than your egg salad sandwich,” says the priest. “You really ought to try it. I know it’s against your religion, but I can’t understand why such a wonderful food should be forbidden. Tell me, Rabbi, when are you going to break down and try it?” The rabbi replies, “At your wedding.” —THE CATHOLIC POST Off-Key Music Jokes ◆ My friends and I are in a band called Duvet. We’re a cover band. Laundry freaks me out. I just realized, unless you do it naked, you are never totally done. —JON FISCH Comedian ◆ What did Jay-Z call his wife before they…

Kristen Kruse knew better than most that her friend of 20-plus years, Stephanie Zimmerer, was not one to drop everything and travel 1,500 miles on a whim. But then she called Zimmerer with startling news. Her mother, Sandra Thompson, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer two years earlier, had just days to live. Her last wish: to see Kruse marry her longtime partner, Tyler Butler. They have two kids together; neither had been in a rush to tie the knot. But fulfilling her mother’s wish was now top of mind, so Kruse frantically tried to pull together a wedding ceremony in just three days. Though she desperately wanted her friend close by, seeing how fast things were moving, Kruse told Zimmerer to forget about coming to the wedding…

On a misty February morning in 2025, retired police officer and part-time farmer Ramesan Nair E.K. and his wife, P.K. Padmam, made their way across their plot of land in a small town called Piravom in southern India, where they had joined relatives to harvest black pepper. Soon, Ramesan, a fit 64-year-old, was climbing atop a Mexican lilac tree, poised precariously close to the family well. He plucked peppers from the vines that wound around its trunk, while Padmam, 56, worked nearby. Then a sharp cracking sound pierced the quiet morning. The branch beneath Ramesan snapped, and he lost his balance. He plunged into the 40-foot well below, striking his head and back against the wall on the way down. Padmam heard the crash, then the terrifying splash. She rushed…

I’M LYING IN a hospital bed, trying to process what happened. But all I can focus on are popular song titles: Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson’s “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” … Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” … Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” … The Bee Gees’ “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” … Sting’s “Be Still My Beating Heart” … No! Not that last one! The last thing I want is for my heart to be still. Please, please, please keep beating. It’s only been a few days since I was taking advantage of a gorgeous September Friday to play hooky. I’d decided to leave my home office to wander around New York City and then to make up the work time over the weekend. The day…

DONNA MOREY AND Jameson Pennings both had a feeling this would be a special day at the ballpark. They both got what they wanted, plus a whole lot more. “He renewed my faith in humanity,” Morey says. “It felt really, really good,” says Jameson. Jameson was there to achieve a major goal in his 9-year-old life: getting a foul ball at a baseball game. Morey was there to celebrate her 80th birthday with her family. In the end, Jameson got not one, but two balls. And Morey got a birthday present she’d never expected—a foul ball from Jameson, a young man she’d never met before. “For the first time in a long time, I was at a loss for words,” she says. It all happened one day last September at…

A Lifetime of Fun My wife and I met during our first week of college and had gone on many dates by senior year. But I wasn’t ready to settle down with one girl until my roommate pointed out that every time I came home from a date, I’d say “It would’ve been more fun with Elizabeth.” It’s been “more fun with Elizabeth” ever since. — BRENT MCBURNEY Alexandria, VA Devotion Promotion My sort-of boyfriend went on a road trip from New York City to Buffalo. The day before he was due home, we were texting good night, and I mentioned the stressful workday I was in for the next day. He called before I left in the morning and told me to look outside: There he was, parked outside…

Most donated organs—about 80%—don’t go to waste; they save thousands of lives every year. Anyone over the age of 18, regardless of medical history, can sign up to be a donor. While you’re still alive, you can donate some organs and tissues, including one of your kidneys, part of your liver and lungs, skin and bone after certain surgeries, and blood, of course. For information on living organ donation, visit organdonor.gov. To become an organ donor after your death, you can: + Register online. Visit RegisterMe.org to add yourself to the national registry, or use the interactive map tool at organdonor.gov to find your state form. + Sign up in person. Complete your registration during any Department of Motor Vehicles transaction, including renewing your license, registering a vehicle or registering…